What Is Neutropenia?

Neutropenia is a blood condition.
It occurs when neutrophil levels are low. Neutrophils are a type of white blood
cell that protects your body from infections.

Without enough neutrophils, your
body can’t fight against bacteria. Having neutropenia increases your risk of many
types of infection.

Types of Neutropenia

There are four types of
neutropenia: congenital, cyclic, autoimmune, and idiopathic.

Congenital neutropenia and cyclic
neutropenia are present at birth. Autoimmune neutropenia and idiopathic
neutropenia develop later in life.

Severe congenital neutropenia is
also called Kostmann syndrome. It causes
very low neutrophil levels. In some cases, neutrophils are absent. This puts infants
and young children at risk for serious infections.

Cyclic neutropenia causes
neutrophil counts to vary in a 21-day cycle. Neutrophil counts fall from normal
to low. A period of neutropenia may last a few days. Normal levels follow for
the rest of the cycle. The cycle then resets and begins again.

In autoimmune neutropenia, your
body makes antibodies that fight your own neutrophils. These antibodies kill
the neutrophils, and this causes neutropenia.

Idiopathic neutropenia can affect
anyone. The cause is unknown.

What Causes Neutropenia?

Neutropenia can be triggered by
chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and the use of certain drugs. Other causes are:

Diagnosing Neutropenia

intermittent CBC/FBC: studies changes in neutrophil
count three times a week for six weeks

antibody blood test: tests for autoimmune
neutropenia

bone marrow aspirate: tests bone marrow cells

bone marrow trephine biopsy: tests a piece of the bony
part of bone marrow

cytogenetic and molecular testing: studies the structures
of cells

Treating Neutropenia

Most cases of neutropenia can be
treated with granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSF). This is a
synthetic copy of the hormone that causes neutrophils to grow in the bone
marrow. G-CSF can increase the number of neutrophils.

G-CSF is usually given with a
daily subcutaneous injection.

Bone marrow transplants are
sometimes used. This is usually when leukemia is present or if G-CSF fails.

The following therapies can also
treat infections caused by the disorder:

antibiotics

anti-inflammatory drugs

corticosteroids

cytokines

glucocorticoids

immunoglobulins

immunosuppressive drugs

white cell transfusions

vitamins

Prognosis

Neutropenia can last for months or years. It
is called acute when it lasts less for than three months. When it lasts for a
longer time, it is called chronic.

Lower neutrophil levels can cause dangerous
infections. These infections can be life-threatening when they are untreated.

Severe congenital neutropenia creates a
higher risk for other conditions. According to the U.S. National Library of
Medicine, about 40 percent of patients with congenital neutropenia have decreased
bone density. This puts them at a higher risk for osteoporosis.